Skating in Norway - Michael Chrolenko

When mentioning Norway, skating isn’t
the first sport that comes to mind. But young hopeful
Michael Chrolenko could be on his way to change that.
He placed second among the junior men at Nordics in
2004, and he has collected three national junior titles.
This season he wants to capture the senior crown.
This easy to get along with, funny and charming 18 year
old has no problem taking a break from his practice
so we can talk. There’s a sparkle in his eyes
reflecting his enthusiasm when he talks about skating
and what he loves about the sport.

Michael: “I like to travel
to different places and meet new people, and compete…
it’s all great! And when you work on a program and all
the different elements come together – wonderful feeling!”
Something that immediately stands out is the way he speaks;
besides a slip or two in Norwegian, his Swedish is perfect.

Michael: “Ha ha,
you think so? Well, I’ve spent a lot of time training
in Sweden and I know many Swedes. But we speak Polish
at home; my mom and dad are both from Poland.”
And they were both athletes too, his mother was a gymnast
and his dad sparked Michael’s interest in skating
at an early age.Michael: “Well, my dad is a coach
and I went with him to the rink, so I guess you can
say I was born on the ice!”

Yes, one could say that. And dad is Marek Chrolenko
who skated in Poland and has an impressive track record
of his own. He started in singles but switched to pairs
and placed seventh at Europeans in Helsinki in 1977.
Now he coaches at the club in Trondheim, Norway, where
both Michael and his younger sister Nicole are students.
Marek: “I have worked as a coach at that
club for a good many years. Nicole’s a novice
and she loves skating and wants to train and compete,
but skating is not her life like it is for Michael.
But right now I don’t have a lot of students since
much of my time and energy goes to Michael, he’s
the best student we’ve had in a very long time.
Of course there have been others, but we have no tradition
of good male skaters in Norway.”

So it’s about time they get one. The question
is if enough is being done to support skating.Marek: “Actually, there’s quite
a bit done to promote the sport. And Michael was part of the
ISU development program for young Scandinavian skaters. The
project ran for three years with skaters like Kiira Korpi,
Lina Johansson and Adrian Schultheiss. It gave Michael the
opportunity to train with Swedish coaches. We still go to
Sweden to get inspired and because their rinks have ice longer
than we do in the spring. There’s a rink in Oslo that
stays open, but it caters to all the clubs in the area so
there isn’t much room for us.”

Michael: “I think
the sport’s (lack of) popularity may have something
to do with population. Norway is a small country and
skiing is so big, everything else is considered of lesser
importance. The little kids play soccer until they start
skiing.”

With hardly any competition Michael is pretty much
in a league of his own and he finds training in Sweden
uplifting.Michael: “In Sweden the skaters
are much more advanced and there aren’t so many
people on the ice, maybe just seven or so. And even
the little kids are pretty good. If I train with the
little ones in Norway I don’t have a chance for
a good practice.”
Good practice was certainly something he found during
the recent summer camps in Germany and Switzerland.

Michael: “Yeah, I was
at the Ice-Dome in Oberstdorf, and later in Flims with Viktor
Kudriavtsev. Both camps were excellent, both the on and off
ice training. I trained so much and I trained hard, we had
ice during the summer! My dad didn’t practice with me
in Flims, which was good; we need a break from each other
sometimes. But training for my dad is fine; really, I mean
he’s not dad on the ice. Besides, he’s always
been my coach so it’s all I know!”
Marek: “Well, I probably treat my kids a bit
differently... I’ve coached the Norwegian team and I’m
possibly harder on my own kids. It’s not easy to coach
them, but it works out fairly well. But them going to Flims
without me during the summer, Michael has been there the last
four years now, is good for all of us.”

After the summer camps Michael is ready to face the new season.Michael: “I kept my programs from last
year. In the long I skate to ”The Pirates of the Caribbean”.
It’s a constant struggle to find just the right music.
I like classical stuff transformed to trance, but it’s
very hard to come by. As far as the jumps, well, the triple
Axel is coming along; I’ve been working on it all summer.
I know I need this jump and I’m trying hard to master
it. Now I just want to keep away from injuries so I can concentrate
on my training and have a good season.”

His last season wasn’t bad either, he was allowed to
go to the Swedish nationals and compete with the senior men
there. Marek: “It was a boost for him to train
and compete with those guys. It’s hard to train alone
so much; having others around who are better than you helps
you stretch your limits! When you’re alone it’s
hard to stay motivated.”

The competition also served as Michael’s
qualifier for Europeans, and he passed!Michael: ”Lyon was great and
I didn’t do so badly considering. But the skaters
at Europeans are really good and I missed a few things
in the short program so I didn’t get to skate
my long, but I was pretty close! Just to compete there
was a treat; I got to skate with the big guys I’d
only watched on TV before. And I shared the ice with
Plushenko during the practice sessions. He was very
nice, not stuck up at all, he made room for me.”

Michael is certainly on the up and up, but Marek is a bit
concerned about the future and how much longer his coaching
will suffice.Marek: “For another year or two, until
Michael’s done with school, we should be ok. But after
that we’ll have to evaluate the situation. Maybe he’ll
need to move, maybe he’ll want to, we have to see what
kind of progress he makes”

But although Marek has high hopes for his son, he also recognizes
the fact that there’s life beyond skating.Marek: ”Michael takes the sport seriously
and works very hard, but school is also important to him.
He understands that an education is for life where skating
isn’t, and so far he has managed to combine the two.
He’s in a 4-year program for athletes who want to apply
themselves to their studies. The first year was very tough,
the second he had a little more time for skating.”
Michael: ”Besides the sport part, I study math,
physics and other advanced stuff. In case I’d get seriously
injured and unable to stay in the sport I’ll have an
education to fall back on. School is for real and someday
I’ll have a good job and make lots of money.”

With a sharp mind like that, who would doubt it? He’s
a hard worker indeed and between school and skating there
isn’t a lot of free time, but when he finds some he
can easily fill it. Michael: “I participate in a few other
sports like cycling and soccer. And I like to go out with
my friends, or sit by the computer.”
He’s a man of both work and fun and he has a pretty
heavy goal.Michael: “I’d really like to
make it to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. But the competition
will be fierce and I may even have a problem making the Norwegian
Olympic team since there are so many medal contenders in other
sports. I’ll work hard for it though! Long term, well…
Right now I have no coaching plans for the future, but you
never know!”
Our conversation is over and he packs up his things to go
back on the ice. It was a pleasure getting to know this promising,
young Norwegian, but the last request became one too many,
that to describe himself.Michael: “Oh no, please, I can’t!
I’ve never even thought about what that would be…”
Well, this reporter can think of few things, like “fighter”,
“dedicated” and “future heartthrob”,
but enough said that Michael’s someone to keep a close
eye on from now on.